Things one middle-aged economist finds interesting

Unfortunately, a large fraction of voters do suffer from economic illiteracy. Indeed, it is fair to say that an ample majority does not understand the basics of how markets work. They are especially confused about labor and international markets. Voters also have severe misconceptions about how government spends their tax dollars, and are extraordinarily pessimistic about long-run economic conditions.

The problem is not that voters lack thorough expertise in economics, or make an occasional careless error. We still call someone "literate" even if they misspell a word every now and then. Most voters lack elementary understanding of economics. They resist even ideas as simple as "In the long-run, preserving obsolete jobs reduces production." When prices change, vague conspiracy theories--not supply-and-demand--are their default explanation. . . .

In sum, while foolish beliefs do not have to lead to foolish policies, there is every reason to think they do.

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Unfortunately, a large fraction of voters do suffer from economic illiteracy. Indeed, it is fair to say that an ample majority does not understand the basics of how markets work. They are especially confused about labor and international markets. Voters also have severe misconceptions about how government spends their tax dollars, and are extraordinarily pessimistic about long-run economic conditions.

The problem is not that voters lack thorough expertise in economics, or make an occasional careless error. We still call someone "literate" even if they misspell a word every now and then. Most voters lack elementary understanding of economics. They resist even ideas as simple as "In the long-run, preserving obsolete jobs reduces production." When prices change, vague conspiracy theories--not supply-and-demand--are their default explanation. . . .

In sum, while foolish beliefs do not have to lead to foolish policies, there is every reason to think they do.